Eagle Claw Sect

"The rooms are not enough for everyone. So, three people will share a single room. Don't break anything inside the bedroom or you will pay the sect yourself. And more importantly, don't disturb other guests if you don't want to face the consequences" senior Jeff warned all the juniors and left to his separate room.

Later the staff distributed the keys to the juniors in batches.

Daniel, Lloyd, and the sleek guy shared the same room this time. Although the room is not big, it has three separate beds.

"Do you know, this entire place is owned by sect? Not only this, but thousands of properties with high market value are under the set control." sleek guy whose name is 'Jimmy' started hinting at something right after closing the door.

"That sure is a lot of money! But Jimmy how do you know all these things?" Lloyd asked with a thoughtful look.

'That is an insensitive question! You should not look into someone's secret unless you want to make an enemy out of him.' Lloyd stepped onto a landmine and Daniel can see it.

Jimmy turned vigilant immediately, "I just heard it somewhere. Why do you care so much about that?"

"No! Nothing! I just thought you are very informative and nothing more! Do you know anything about the sect we are joining?" Looking at the other's face it immediately occurred to Lloyd that he asked the wrong question unintentionally. So he changed the subject very quickly to avoid further misunderstanding.

'A very good question! I also want to know more about the sect' Daniel is also interested in this.

Jimmy started showing a hippy smile and asked, "Well, I do know a thing or two about the 'Eagle Sect' but why should I tell you?"

Lloyd sat on the bed for a second and nodded his head slightly, "Alright, if your information is credible and useful then you can count this as a favor I owe you"

Jimmy is happy to hear those words. Although Lloyd's word does not account for much. It is much better than selling it off for a few broken silver. Also, the information he holds will lose all its value once they reach the sect. He is selling it as a favor so he could cash it in later.

Fact is, even if Lloyd did not promise anything, he would have told the information he knew to gain some brownie points.

"There are three major sects in the entire province of 'Gloomy Woods'. And 'Eagle Claw Sect' which we are going to join, is one of these three major sects. The sect is located to the north of the capital city and it will take a few hours to reach it from here" Jimmy spilled some of the information he gathered from the security team and other sources.

Lloyd once again asked a dumb question, "Why did they not set up the sect inside the city? It is much safe here?"

'Did something happen to him? Why is he behaving like this today?' Daniel is looking at Lloyd in doubt.

Jimmy looked at him like an idiot and said, "How can a big sect of that size operate inside the city and cultivate a powerhouse? The majority of resources needed for cultivators can only be grown at special places where Qi is immense. So sects usually choose to establish their base at places where Qi is abundant"

Daniel had enough of this, so he spoke to Jimmy for the first time, "Tell me about the strength of the 'Eagle Claw Sect'"

Truth is, Jimmy has no personal grudge with Daniel from the very start. He just wanted to avoid the spotlight so kept a distance from him. Now that there are no outsiders here, he has no problem answering the questions from Daniel.

"I don't know much about this but the sect master of 'Eagle Claw' is said to be very powerful! He is counted as one of the prominent and mighty figures in the entire province!" Jimmy said this with a tinge of respect in his voice.

"Do you know about the cultivation realms at least?" After failing to get the desired information, Daniel changed the question.

"It is said the person starts his cultivation journey at the 'Refining Realm' and what followed that is 'Foundation Realm'." Jimmy was able to gather this information because this comes under common knowledge among cultivators.

"What about the sect master? What realm is he in?" Daniel continued his questioning.

"Sect Master and all other prominent people who appear in front of public are in the Foundation Realm. Although there is only one real gap between the two they told me the strength gap will be immeasurable" Jimmy continued answering.

'So Foundation Realm is that powerful? I am itching to see how powerful the people from that realm are!'Daniel could only bury this thought for now.

Lloyd who was silent until now, asked a very important question, "What about the beautiful women? Do you know anything that?"

Jimmy gave an 'I know what you are talking about!' kind of look and started a new conversation with a smile, "Well! I heard almost all the cultivating women are beautiful! But if you ask me specifically I say…."

After that Jimmy continued with his rhetoric but Daniel has no interest in that information.

'So I need to break into Foundation Realm if I want to have a say in the province? But will it be so easy?' Daniel knows it will be very difficult to enter that stage for anyone. But he is at a little ease because he is not without help.

'I can only bet on you! If you fail then I have to look for other opportunities for cultivating' Daniel once again remembered the Chaos Stone present in his consciousness.

Daniel went to bed after dinner while guessing the features of the Chaos Stone.

That night went peacefully and the next morning everyone is waiting at the parking area.

There is change though. All the tents and camping equipment on the carriages are replaced with sealed boxes and other things.

Some more carriages which are lined with forged iron are added to the lineup.

'So, some precious things of the sect are delivered by us! If some strong people attack for those treasures then how should I escape?' Daniel really did not like this.

"Young masters, here is food for lunch. Since the city is big it will take a few hours to get out of here and during that period the carriage will not stop. The seniors decide to reach the sect by evening so there will be no stopping. I was ordered to inform you and also to deliver the food" The coach driver gave the bag while delivering the news.

The group took the bag and got into the carriage without any fuss.

With the fresh and well-fended faces all started the last stretch of the long journey.

Since they are nearing the sect, the kids are very enthusiastic in the morning. They started talking about many things.

'It is general for the people in the capital to have more wealth than other parts of the province but I never thought the difference would be so big' Daniel is observing the prosperity of the city and the people through the window during the journey

He found many beautiful women and handsome men wearing luxurious clothes with matching jewelry in every part of the city.

Also, the carriages marked with a variety of symbols and embedded gems are not in few numbers.

From the respective look of the pedestrians, it is apparent that the people in the carriage have no small status.

'It seems water runs very deep here. If I rob them all, then wouldn't I be able to sell those treasures for cultivating resources' Daniel is having some crazy thoughts because of too much leisure.

Even pedestrians and roadside stall sellers are wearing clean and tidy clothes. The smiles on the faces of the people tell the story of the ruling class of the city.

Slowly, as they reached the city gate the number of high-rise buildings fell to a minimum.

Someone must have informed the security personal as they let pass such a carriage lineup without checking.

Leaving the city, Daniel saw the north gate up-close this time.

During the entire day, Daniel was observing many things in the city. He even remembered the general routes they took when they were exiting. And this tired him out, so he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Except for the creaking wheel, the entire carriage is once again plunged into silence. And the lineup got on the highway leading to the 'Eagle Claw Sect'.